#TBT: The Erotic Art of Toby Bluth

Toby Bluth (born Fred Bluth) was a talented artist, animator and production designer as well as an avid fan and producer-director of children's theater. He and his brother, Don Bluth, also a well-known animator and artist, often collaborated on animation as well as theater projects. He became a "fine artist" for Disney, creating illustrations of Disney classics to be sold in their galleries worldwide.

Toby also created many custom illustrations for advertising and editorial pieces at The Advocate. The art included here is mostly from the early '70s. It includes the poster for his all-male re-creation of As You Like It. And then there was the more explicitly erotic work that we cannot show here.

Jay Bell wrote in 2003, "One of Toby's cartoon characters adorned the offices of The Advocate during its first years of publication. It was affectionately seen as the magazine's mascot. Toby looked at his life as a series of conflicts: 'They're like the hill that's beyond the hill you just climbed. They give you a chance to increase your capability. To grow.'"

Toby died almost a year ago, October 13, and will be remembered fondly by his fans, collaborators, and certainly those old-timers here at The Advocate who remember him well.